Box Office Report: Skyfall elevates Bond to record heights

The box office results for the weekend of November 9th – 11th is all about Bond. James Bond. With the 23rd entry in the storied secret-agent franchise, Skyfall is going to become the biggest Bond flick of all-time. Here are the studio estimates:

1. Skyfall ($87.8 million)

2. Wreck-It Ralph ($33 million)

3. Flight ($15.1 million)

4. Argo ($6.7 million)

5. Taken 2 ($4 million)

6. Here Comes the Boom ($2.5 million)

7. Cloud Atlas ($2.5 million)

8. Pitch Perfect ($2.5 million)

9. The Man with the Iron Fists ($2.5 million)

10. Hotel Transylvania ($2.3 million)

Analysis

Being the only new guy in wide-release, Skyfall was able to attract the domestic masses, which in turn, will easily lead to the biggest opening ever in the franchise history (previous record was $67.5 for 2008’s Quantum of Solace). Releasing overseas the week prior, the latest James Bond features is already over $400 million worldwide; which will have none of the investors and/or distributing studio, Columbia, concerned about the reported production budget of nearly $200 million. The financial debut is also good for the seventh best November opening of all-time, trailing only a few of the Harry Potter and Twilight installments.

Other than Bond, the only other intriguing element from this past weekend’s box office was how the poorly reviewed (by both critics & audiences) Taken 2 has quietly reached $131.2 million stateside in 6 weeks of release; bringing its worldwide gross to $342 million. Not too shabby off a production budget of $45 million. A Sleeper Hit indeed.

Wreck-It Ralph and Flight held true in their respective second weekends, dropping just 33% and 39%. And Argo continues to hold strong in week #5 (now up to $85.6 million domestically).

Hotel Transylvania and Pitch Perfect currently own the longest streaks in the top ten with 7 weeks apiece. The former is up to $140.9 million while the surprising latter has hit just over $59 million.

This Friday, Lincoln expands to over 1500 theaters after sneaking into 11 this past weekend. But all eyes will be on the Twilight finale in Breaking Dawn Part 2. Be prepared for a possible record-breaker my fellow Shockers.

Joe Belcastro is an established movie critic in Tampa, Florida. As a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle, most of his time is spent reviewing upcoming movies. He also covers news pertaining to the film industry, on both a local and national level as well as conducting interviews. To contact Joe Belcastro regarding a story or with general questions about his services, please e-mail him and/or follow him on Twiiter @TheWritingDemon.